


Distance

by TheRustyWriter



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Canon, F/F, F/M, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2019-11-29 01:26:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18216353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRustyWriter/pseuds/TheRustyWriter
Summary: Set post-Season 5, as the survivors awake from cyro sleep and face a new world.





	1. Stasis

**Author's Note:**

> It's taken me so long to write another story, as have been suffering major post-debut writer's block. The response to 'Before' was amazing and, over a year on, has inspired me to finally write something else, so thank you so much for the encouragement.

Lethargic.

The word most appropriate to describe the way Murphy was currently feeling, as he trundled his way around the upper deck of the ship. His feet felt heavy and cumbersome and his mind, exhausted, weighed even heavier. While he ran, he counted his steps but more for something to try and focus on, rather than for genuine concern about the distance. Frequently, he lost count, his thoughts lazily wandering elsewhere, although he was unsure where, since they also felt lethargic, heavy and unfocused. Over and over, he restarted though, rather than quitting, mainly because he couldn't think of anything more useful to do with himself.

It was somewhat ironic, he had darkly surmised, more than once, both internally and to most of the others, that a number of them seemed to have been struck with this almost paralysing lethargy. You'd have thought that having been in a cryogenic sleep for 125 years, they'd be energised and eager to seize the day. 'Carpe Diem' and such shit. Yet, for most of them, him included, that certainly wasn't the case.

Six weeks earlier, he'd found himself shocked wide awake from a hazy nothing. From a dreamless, century long slumber into a suffocating cryo cell, gasping into the empty air. Instinctively, he'd reached down to the ache in his abdomen, where his wound had still been raw, what felt like minutes earlier, when Jackson had told him he was about to put him to sleep like the others. Yet, the wound itself, he quickly realised, was gone: barely a hint of scar remained. Time, it seemed, had healed him physically. Oddly though, it still ached. Even now, weeks on, he'd awake in the night and feel the ache where the bullet had ripped into him.

The rest of him though was numb.

Despite having been given another chance at life, at finding a new world, a home, he hadn't woken up and felt lucky. Despite twenty four years of desperately fighting to survive, both on Earth and in space, his cockroach status irked at him. His survival made his head and his heart ache. An ache which was all too painfully familiar; an ache which took him back to the death of his father when he was seven years old.

Like his father, who'd essentially given his own life for his son's, Monty and Harper had selflessly done the same.

Thus, as he ran aimlessly and steadily each day, his thoughts often came back to them and the sacrifices they'd made, knowing they would die in space to allow their friends, and their enemies, to make it to a new world.

This was where his mind wandered when he forgot to count. He imagined their conversation. The decision. The life they'd lived. Then, the choking sensation bubbled up to his throat and he choked it back down, forcing himself to return to counting. Again and again, he remembered ... He thought of how they must have felt, putting their son into cyro sleep with them, knowing they'd never see him smile again in their lifetimes. Knowing they were leaving their son to a bunch of selfish idiots who'd pretty much annihilated the planet, themselves and each other in their own world.

There would never be any doubt that his friends were better than he'd ever be. Monty and Harper were better than them all. He'd spent weeks laden down with that guilt.

Thinking back, he remembered Monty hovering behind Jackson's shoulder before he went to sleep.

Having spent days going in and out of consciousness, he'd missed the discussions and the planning about the cyro sleep. Vaguely, he remembered people coming to see him and the faintest relief that they'd made it. Monty with Harper, who'd held his hand; Echo, who'd said very little, but blessed him in Azgedan; Bellamy, who'd said less but whose eyes met Murphy's with such relief that Murphy felt his own well up with unprecedented tears and he'd had to look away; Clarke, who had cried silently by his bedside, thinking he was asleep; Raven and Emori, who had appeared together, both mocking him mercilessly (Raven about bullet wound karma and Emori about never living down having his arse saved by Monty), but both also leaving him with a kiss on the forehead, which, like his gunshot wound, he could feel when he awoke, their lips lingering sharply on his skin.

Now, looking back, he knew that Monty had made a decision even then. He recalled something stoic and resigned in his expression and every time he pictured it in his mind, Murphy's conscience punched him. Monty, his friend, the friend he definitely didn't deserve, had saved his life. Twice. And now Monty was gone and Murphy hadn't had the chance to say the things he should have said. _I didn't even say fucking thank you,_ he admonished himself, every time his mind wandered back to it.

Sometimes though, he was mad.

 _Fuck you Monty. Fuck you for being so good. For dying so the rest of us could live. Even though we don't deserve it. People who have done what we've done don't deserve anything._ His mind cycled continuously through their endless cycle of crimes.

Since he'd come out of his assisted sleep, he'd slept fitfully. Each time he slept, it was for short amounts of time and he'd awake gasping into the darkness, grabbing his aching invisible wound, drenched with cold sweat and then be smacked over and over with the realisation that Monty and Harper were still gone. And he was, somehow, still alive. Even he'd started to doubt his survival in those final days back on Earth. He was pretty sure even the cockroaches there were dead now. Annihilated out of existence. And yet, this cockroach was somehow still scratching around, now on a different spaceship, in a different solar system, hurtling towards a new planet, probably to infest that too.

He knew he should be grateful. He knew they should all be grateful.

A Future.

The future.

Future.

He'd looked it up in a dictionary he'd found in the ship's library. A place where no one bar him and Bellamy had bothered to venture. It read: **(Noun) Time still to come. Time which is going to or likely to happen.**

He couldn't see it though. Maybe it was that he didn't want to see it. Maybe the weight of the last seven (plus 125) years had clouded the future. Obscured it in a way that made it impossible to see beyond darkness and death. Their past itself: a carcass of moral failure and ineptitude, evil and selfishness. Therefore, he didn't have the heart or strength to invest in the discovery of a new world. Turns out, the decimation of a planet had sapped the life out of even a dogged survivor like him.

The future didn't seem bright and rosy. It was forever stained and flecked with blood and sin.

Plus, he reminded himself again, Monty and Harper weren't in it, so they were even more fucked.

Thus, while they were waiting to land on their new planet, Murphy had retreated. That said, he wasn't the only one. Clarke, Bellamy, Octavia, Miller, Echo, Indra, Abby. None of them volunteered to be in the strategic team or the landing party. They lurked in the shadows, uncharacteristically waiting for someone else to tell them what to do. Afraid of what they would do to a new world.

Opportunity. Hope. Future. The words Jordan spoke. The words he'd inherited from his parents. Words too frightening for them to possibly utter.

Right now, Bellamy was running with him. Well, he was there running, he'd lapped Murphy twice at least, and they certainly didn't talk. Miller also sometimes appeared, nodding awkwardly at them and setting his own pace. He wasn't sure of the time, or how long they ran, just that they remained in a sort of limbo. The same stasis as when they were asleep or when they were back in the cells on the Ark.

Realising his mind had once again wandered, Murphy sighed and resignedly restarted his count, rather than facing the past or the future. Instead, like his fellow runners, waiting for someone to tell them what the hell to do.

 


	2. Where next?

"You know the girls are pissed at us."

Bellamy's voice broke through the blurry words on the page. Not that Murphy'd been reading them, as he'd been waiting for Bellamy to speak for the last thirty minutes. His uncomfortable shuffling and somewhat melodramatic sighing had given away that he was building up to saying something. And, knowing Bellamy, he knew that 'something' would not be a frivolous light-hearted chat.

At that moment, the two of them were sitting on the floor behind the one of the stacks in the spaceship's small library. Since they'd woken up, it had become a good place for them to retreat to. Even though Murphy had read a fair number of the books on offer (and he suspected Bellamy had read even more of them than him), they were steadily making their way through the collection. During their previous six year stint in space together, the others had been surprised that Murphy was almost as well read as Bellamy. Now, between ten years in the SkyBox and six in space, he'd easily already read a lifetime worth of books, yet he still found solace in the pages of worlds far removed from his.

"Yes..." Murphy's monosyllabic answer hung in the air, as Bellamy waited for him to continue and ask why. He didn't.

Bellamy pushed on to explain what his girlfriend had told him in their bunk the night before. She'd presented it by saying 'Raven' was exasperated with those of them who apparently 'were still acting like they were a-bloody-sleep.' Bellamy knew it wasn't just Raven who felt like that. She was flanked by Emori, Jordan, Diyoza, Shaw and Gaia, who were essentially running the ship's operations and navigating them towards the new planet, as well as organising everyone else, both those awake and asleep.

"Echo says that Raven keeps putting people to work, even if they don't want to be involved at the helm. Octavia and Indra are running the cleaning and maintenance detail, Abby and Niylah are running the kitchen, Miller is basically an orderly in sanatorium, helping Jackson and Clarke monitor the others. Apparently, she's waiting to catch up with us. She says people don't have to be on the Bridge but they have to pull their weight. She's got Madi and Echo stocktaking supplies. We can't just - her words - 'treat this like a fancy holiday they've read about in one of their books.' Supposedly, we need to close the distance we've created and not retreat."

Echo's last comment had lingered between them; she wasn't just talking about his reluctance to connect and be present within their new life on the Elygius: It was a pointed comment about their relationship; a remark which he'd pretended to be oblivious to.  Murphy wasn't the only one who had perfected diffidence.

Murphy hummed in response but otherwise remained silent. Bellamy though didn't let up; he was clearly looking for someone to unburden himself to. Over the years, he'd discovered that Murphy was actually a good person to turn to if you felt like repenting something or revealing uncomfortable truths about yourself. Rather than expressing sympathy, like Harper, or asking too many questions, like Emori, or solemnly judging - Monty, as much as he loved him, was always a bit too pious for the severe weight of Bellamy's guilt. While Murphy offered no atonement or absolution, there was something comforting in his silence. You could trust your secrets were locked inside Murphy's confessional box.

Thus, Bellamy admitted, "I'm just so tired. My body and my mind are exhausted, which I know is crazy. We've been in some kind of 'Sleeping Beauty' immortality coma and I can't even face opening some tins for lunch, never mind facing my sister, Clarke, Miller, Jordan, and all the other ghosts of the past. The thought of having actual meaningful conversations makes me feel like vomiting. I just keep thinking about Monty and what he wants us to do. And that, in itself, is paralysing me."

Silence lingered between the two before Murphy spoke, sighing in a deliberately dramatic fashion as he did, "You know the reason I spend time with you is for your silence. The fact you're taciturn is my favourite thing about you."

Bellamy stared him down intently, refusing to accept a glib remark as a response.

Defeatedly, Murphy flung up his hands, "Jesus, what do you want me to say. There's nothing I can say to exonerate any one of us. Yes, Monty is gone and yes, it's shit. I'm already having this conversation with myself in my head so do we really need to have it out loud too. There's no Hail Marys for us. Trust me."

Having started though, Bellamy felt there was something cathartic about giving voice to his feelings, and despite Murphy's lack of exonerations for him, he felt he should finish, "You know I'm a bit jealous of them: Monty and Harper, I mean."

At this, Murphy nodded and swallowed down the suffocating feeling he kept getting every time he thought of the two. He acknowledged it: "Yeah I get that. They actually had something. A purpose. A life together. Fuck, I bet they were glad for the peace on here, without everyone trying to kill each other." He paused and laughed. "Would you have liked to have done that if you'd thought of it? Shacked up here with Cla-Echo and your kid?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure I'd have been strong enough. The enormity of it. Plus, if it was me and Echo we'd probably have killed each other rather than procreate or I'd have cracked and woken 'Tavia up to have it out with her. And probably Clarke too."

Having struggled so much during their previous confinement to space, Murphy knew exactly the kind of stir-crazy torment Bellamy was describing. Again though, he said nothing; he simply nodded and allowed him to continue.

"Yet, the irony of this is we've actually woken up and I'm still not talking to either of them, which is playing on my mind. We've been given another chance but I don't want to take it. I'm afraid to." This was exactly it. His words resonated with Murphy, as he went on, "I think the cyro-sleep has regressed us back to our teenage selves. We stay up half the night, brood around during the day and refuse to talk to anyone. Well, I say teenager, obviously I mean if we were teenagers in a pre-Ark world. My problems do, ultimately, come down to girlfriend and family issues..."

Murphy finally spoke up and quipped: "Set against a backdrop of murder, attempted murder, betrayal, cannibalism, chemical warfare, civil war and space travel."

Laughing darkly, Bellamy steered the conversation back to personal territory, "What's the deal with you and Emori?"

"We had sex all over the ship for a week after we woke up and then we remembered that we really are done with each other and have avoided each other ever since, rather than admit that. I'm also excellent at avoidance."

They looked at each other with shared understanding. It was strange Murphy thought. If you'd told him seven years ago that his two closest friends would be Bellamy Blake and Raven Reyes, he'd have thought you were crazy. Yet, despite everything that had happened, they really were. Along with Echo and Emori, they were his family. The only family he'd had since he was seven years old. The thought brought up unwelcome emotions and, again, he swallowed them down and looked to deflect, "So what job are you going to volunteer for?"

Considering his options, Bellamy responded, "Well anything that keeps me away from Echo, Octavia, Clarke and having to make a decision... So shall we go and do some dishes?"

Murphy shook his head, "Nah - let's hold out a bit. Between you and me, it really does it for me when Raven gets mad. And, I need to get my kicks where I can."

Using Murphy's comment as a way in, Bellamy asked something he'd suspected for a while, "Do you have a thing for Reyes? As if years of your complicated relationship with Emori wasn't traumatic enough for the rest of us, you two would be a disaster."

"It's called a fantasy, Bellamy. I thought someone who reads as much of you would be able to recognise one. It's miracle enough I got Emori interested in me for so long but Raven would definitely take her chances with all the prisoners in cyro first."

Bellamy thought about contradicting him and pointing out that he'd always thought the two had some fairly intense, pent-up chemistry to work out but Murphy, uncharacteristically, carried on: "You know though I think that's the thing I'm most envious of you about. Not your height. Not your naturally tanned skin. Not your luscious locks. Or your brooding intellectualism." He mock appraised Bellamy up and down before continuing: "No it's that you were the lucky bastard Reyes revenge-sexed when she was mad at Collins. Only imagine if she'd made a wrong turn and come to my tent of depravity instead."

By this point, Bellamy was genuinely laughing, "I'm not sure where you're going with this one. They'd still have been a mountain of torture and experimentation, not to mention an ALIE driven nuclear explosion. Plus, how do you know about that?!"

"Harper told me. She seemed to know everything about everyone. She commented that it was way too incestuous between the seven of us up there. Not that it's much better in our new increased population of 564. I mean, I am pretty sure cannibalism wasn't the only freaky thing going on in that bunker. Then, throw in you, Clarke, Echo and the rest of your early days on Earth harem..."

Bellamy cut him off, "You know nothing has ever happened between us. Me and Clarke I mean."   
  
Murphy looked him in the eye and bluntly spelled out the thing Bellamy had been avoiding, "And that's part of the problem isn't it. She's the one who never was. And you're kidding yourself every time you say otherwise."

Bellamy's fist suddenly connected with the side of his jaw and Murphy found himself reverberating back into the book shelf. Kicking out, his foot made firm contact with Bellamy's chest, sending Bellamy into the opposite stack. A flurry of books and dust descended upon them, knocking the momentary aggression out of them both. Slumped against opposite book shelves, they eyed each other cautiously before bursting into hysterical laughter, knowing neither of them had the strength or the heart to continue the fight.

And there they sat, reading in comfortable silence, until the door burst open and Madi whirlwinded in, ordering them to come to an emergency meeting on the ship's Bridge. Apparently, she'd rounded up everyone else on Raven's very specific orders that they were to report there immediately.

Yet, rather than apprehension, a slight smirk spread over Murphy's expression as he asked, "Would you say she's mad at us?"

Bellamy rolled his eyes.

In response, Madi nodded seriously, "She called you two lazy gits who could go float themselves."

At this, Murphy sprung up from the floor and reached a hand dramatically down to haul Bellamy up alongside him. Bellamy rose an eyebrow, "I see something gets you up," he remarked quietly to him, while arching an eyebrow.

"Indeed, she does," he winked back.

As they followed Murphy's skipping figure through the ship, Madi confided in Bellamy that when Clarke told her Murphy was funny, she assumed she meant 'ha ha'. "Turns out, he's the other funny - aka weird - too," she commented and Bellamy nodded sagely in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the saturation of dialogue. I do try to avoid too much speech but Bellamy wouldn't shut up.


	3. Untethered

Approaching the ship's bridge room, Murphy knew they were the last to arrive.  The surrounding corridors were empty.  Even though there were currently only seventeen of them awake on-board, in the few weeks they had inhabited the prison ship together it had seemed near impossible to go anyway without awkwardly bumping into someone you didn't want to talk to.  He wasn't sure if it was the almost tripling of the number of people he'd spent his last stint in space with or the nine and a half years alone in the SkyBox prior to that, which had caused him to see this as a bustling environment.  Irregardless, too many people made him feel claustrophobic and edgy.  Plus, a third sentence in space, even though this ship was much more spacious than their previous one, wasn't helping matters.  He also noted that Madi had, uncharacteristically, stopped chattering away to Bellamy behind him.  Evidentially, she had inferred that the meeting they had been summoned to was a serious one.  Thus, as he reached the command room, he cut out his previous cocky saunter.  He liked it when Raven got mad, but he didn't actually want her to murder him. 

Any hopes he might have had that the meeting was already underway and that they could sneak in unnoticed were immediately squashed, as he cautiously pressed the door release and stepped directly into the frosty-burn of the impatient eyes of fourteen others.  Clearly, no one had been talking; they were simply awaiting him and Bellamy to make an appearance.  The room was far from full but Murphy immediately felt stifled and uncomfortable.  Glancing around, he spotted Emori who purposefully glared at him, her eyes conveying her frustration at his ongoing tardiness and general apathy, and Echo, who also rolled her eyes at them both, in a way which made him feel about five.  Despite their outward displeasure though, Murphy still made his way around the back of the others in the room, to stand next to them and he sensed Bellamy do the same behind him.  Sometimes, he thought to himself, it really was 'Better the Devils you know', especially when he considered the others in the room.     

As he did, Raven crossed directly in front of him and he expected an admonishment. Instead though, keeping her back to the rest of the room, she leant forward and muttered almost inaudibly into his ear, "Have my back here... arsehole." Except, the 'arsehole' bit she stressed loudly and he heard several people around them snort with laughter, assuming he had been reprimanded.  Immediately, he was on guard.  Obviously, whatever Raven was about to say wasn't going to be good and she needed her own people on side.

 Raven had returned to the front of the room and Murphy studied her from where he was standing.  It was times like this that Murphy found her incredibly  attractive.  Fierce.  Stoic.  Direct.  Christ, she was hot. 

Not needing to wait for silence, she opened without formalities or niceties:   

"I know you are all expecting to arrive at the new planet any day now but that isn't going to be happening.  There is no new planet.  At least, not at the coordinates we have been travelling to." 

She continued on quickly before anyone could process enough to speak out, "It seems we have been led towards what Monty and Harper believed was a planet but is actually a type of mirage.  Essentially it's a hologram: an incredibly clever one, which gives the impression of planet mass, but a hologram nonetheless.  It seems that we have been led into some kind of trap."

It had taken Murphy's mind a few minutes to refocus from Raven herself and onto the reality of what she was saying.   Yet, he didn't feel particularly shocked by her announcement.  He vaguely wondered if it was still the numbness of the cryogenic state or if he was simply beyond shocking.  

"This is my fault." Jordan, who had been sitting at a control panel, slightly behind Raven, suddenly spoke up.  Springing anxiously out of his seat, he stepped towards them all.  Murphy could see then that his eyes were red and he had clearly recently been crying.  His voice scratched with emotion as he spoke.  "My parents gave me instructions to continue to head for this planet when I woke up and not to wake you guys up until I knew we were going to make it.  As I got closer though, it became apparent that what they thought was a planet was not as it seemed all those years ago and I realised the dimensions and the atmosphere seemed infeasible but I didn't know what else to do, so I sent out a signal to see if there was anyone else receiving in the area." 

He was speaking quickly and it was making his breathing slightly ragged.  Snatching a gulp of air he went on, "I received a message back from another ship.  _The Plutarch_.  They made contact and confirmed there was no planet; there was never a planet here.  They told me they synthesised the signal in order to intercept other spaceships over a century ago but ours was the first one who had ever made it here.  They are also searching for a new planet but have reason to believe it is in coordinates similar to the hologram planet but," he paused, again to take in a breath, "in an alternative dimension." 

His final words broke the silence in the room.  Indra snorted loudly with disbelief and people started talking and asking questions all at once.   

"What do they want with us?" 

"So there is basically no planet anywhere." 

"I'm confused, so what are we going to time travel there?"

Upon which, Raven shouted over the melee for them all to calm down and nodded to Jordan to continue. 

Murphy could see that Jordan's hands were now shaking and he held them together behind his back. 

"They told me that they needed us to join them.  That they needed more able bodies to man their ship to reach the destination.  I told them you were all asleep.  Cyrogenically frozen until we reached our destination.  But they told me to wake you all up.  That it would take just over six weeks for us to reach them and that they would let us join them peacefully.  If I didn't they said..." His speech was still fast but choppier now and his voice reflected the sheer panic he had clearly faced alone.  He stuttered and repeated, "They said if I didn't then they would chase us through space, board the ship and make us join them.  I didn't know what to do.  I didn't know whether to turn the ship around or wake you all up and tell you straight away.  I was afraid." 

"How long until we meet their ship?" It was Gaia who asked the question they were all thinking.  Like Murphy, time in stasis seemed to have physically healed her but there was a certain haunted paleness to her countenance, which hadn't been there before.   

Jordan glanced towards Raven, who answered for him.  

"Less than an hour." 

Then, all hell broke lose.  

Just behind him, Murphy heard Bellamy utter 'fuck' and someone, presumably Echo, smacked the wall in frustration.  Both Madi and Abby to his right burst into tears, with Abby immediately then pulling the younger girl to her.  However, it was, perhaps predictably, some of the bunker group, who erupted with anger.

Even Indra was simmering with upset and rage, "Is this basically The Mountain Part 2?  We're being sent to support some superior race with their population problems."  

Niylah then turned to Jordan, "So essentially you've just fucking sold us out. And waited six fucking weeks to tell us."    

He assumed Emori, Shaw and Diozya already knew as they all remained, somewhat uncharacteristically, calm and glanced at one another, waiting for the shouting to stop.  

Niylah though wasn't stopping; she stepped aggressively towards Jordan:  "What the hell have you done?" 

Murphy was vaguely wondering why they had woken so many of the bunker group up, when Raven stepped between the two and gestured over to Clarke, who was hanging back, a hand on Madi's back. "Want to get a grip on your girlfriend?"  

There was clearly still bad blood between the two and Murphy saw Clarke's eyes flash, ready for a retort and an argument.  

Jordan then spoke up again, deflecting his attention from Clarke: "I'm so so sorry. I know it's no excuse but I've only ever had my parents my whole life and when I woke up I was alone and I thought it would be better if we all faced this together. But I've probably led you into a terrible trap and got us all killed." He then collapsed back into his chair, holding his head in his hands.

Still angry, Niylah turned to gesture at Octavia, who was standing in the middle of the main crowd.  

She stepped forward and Murphy felt Bellamy instinctively stiffen his guard. 

"Is that all? Oh Jordan, the rest of us have done a hell of a lot worse."

It was Octavia who spoke.  But an Octavia Murphy hadn't seen for a long time.  The Octavia who got off the Dropship with them.  The Octavia who was friends with Monty and Jasper when no one else would give them the time of day.  The Octavia he knew Bellamy thought was long gone.  In that moment, she briefly looked so young and, from the look of confusion on Niylah's face, unrecognisable to the majority of the room. 

Tentatively, she stepped towards Jordan and then knelt beside him.  She took his hand in hers and, speaking gently, bent her head towards his and spoke to him quietly enough that no one else could overhear.  

The unexpected tenderness and empathy of her words and actions seemed to release the anger from most of the room, particularly from the faithful members of Wonkru, and Raven used it to her advantage to regain control of the meeting, continuing in a matter-of-fact fashion.  

"This is not Jordan's fault.  We have been intercepted by another ship who intend to envelop us.  Following discussions here on deck, it is clear we cannot out run them, we cannot fight out them and we have nowhere else to go.  Instead, we will negotiate.  They have already agreed to meet Jordan in peace, with three representatives of the different factions we have on board. Miles," she turned and nodded at him gently, "has already volunteered to go as the representative of the prison ship and to pilot the landing shuttle.  We just need two more volunteers." 

The silence was palatable.  

No one even sneered or laughed.  They simply responded, without saying anything, and their answers were clear: Absolutely not. No way. Not a chance.  

Looking back later, Murphy still wasn't sure what happened.  Whether it was simply that or that he couldn't deal with the twitch in Raven's cheek as she waited or the look of appreciation she had passed towards Shaw but he heard a voice, oddly detached from his body, but unmistakably his own, saying, "I volunteer."   

Sixteen sets of eyes turned to boggle at him in disbelief. 

Even Raven, who he was pretty sure practically told him to do it at the start of the meeting, looked confused. 

He thought he best repeat, "Yes, I volun-fucking-teer as tribute." 

Madi laughed. She was the only one.  Obviously, no one else had read any of the teenage fiction the library had to offer. 

No one clapped or thanked him.  No one else was inspired to volunteer.  Jackson and Indra had fully turned to face him and were looking at him like he'd grown two heads.   

With almost expected resignation, Raven broke the silence. "Well, they wanted someone from the other faction too but maybe they will accept me as the final representative."  

"Absolutely not." Murphy's words blurted back at her. 

At the same time, about half the room spoke up to veto her suggestion. 

"Are you crazy?"

"No we actually need you." (From one of his supposed friends.)

"You rescue us." 

"With your brain!"  

Murphy considered being insulted but knew it was all true and at least it had sparked the others into some kind of action. 

Turning back to the group, Octavia spoke up, "I'd go but I'm not great at negotiating, so unless you want dead bodies, someone else will volunteer."  

Bar Abby, instantly all the other members of Wonkru rose their hands.  Miller was judged to be first and confirmed as the final representative. 

At that point, Raven paused the meeting momentarily to give everyone a moment to write down any concerns or questions they had, in order to quickly decide what their envoys should ask their would-be captors.   

Finding himself left standing with Bellamy once again, Murphy quipped, "Well, at least I've got a job now." 

"What the hell were you thinking?" Bellamy shook his head at him. 

Murphy considered his question, "Well, one I've never met ET.  Two, surely I'm a better choice than some of the Lecters. And, if I'm honest, if Jordan is going, I feel I owe it to Monty and Harper to look out for their kid."  

Bellamy scoffed, "And if you're more honest, because Raven told you to.  How do you spell W-H-I-P-P-E-D?"  

Murphy was about to retort but they were beckoned into Emori, Echo and Shaw's group and they both moved to join them.  Before he reached them though, Raven cut in front of him once more.  "Thank you," she mouthed silently. At the same time, gently, perhaps almost without consciousness of doing so, her fingertips touched his torso, between his chest and his stomach and she rested them there a moment.  As she did, their eyes met and wordless shared understanding passed between them.   

The sudden and unexpected intimacy of her action sparked through him.  For the first time in six weeks, the numbness faded.  Even as she withdrew her hands, in the wake of her touch remained a kindling of something.  Its warmth spread through him and he immediately tried to fight it down.  This was not the time to ignite a lust which he had always worked so hard to keep buried.   

Raven called everyone's attention back to her and the remaining minutes of the meeting hurled by.  Murphy knew they were standing on the precipice of a new danger and he struggled to concentrate on any of the precise details of the discussion which took place. Yet, while he no longer felt numb, he didn’t didn’t feel afraid either. On the contrary, he felt like something deep within him had been reignited.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies - it’s taken me so long to get this chapter up as I basically hated what I’d written, so I kept going back to rework it. I want to move forward though so I have decided to leave it as it is. 
> 
> I haven’t seen much of Season 6 so some of the new characters will be original ones.


	4. Submission

 

As it turned out, Murphy's attempt at gallantry was pointless. Just as the four of them were about to board the landing shuttle, equipped with nothing bar some scribbled 'what the fuck' questions, Emori appeared. Having just transmitted the details of the people who would be joining Jordan on the expedition, she explained that the captain of The Plutarch had objected to the combination of Miller and Murphy, when he'd heard they both originated from the same place.

Murphy quipped: "Hardly, he's Alpha Station and I'm Factory."

However, as Emori clarified, when the captain had requested representatives from the different groups, he had meant: Prison ship; Ark; the Ground. He had not stipulated the factions they had come to identify themselves with. When she said it, it seemed obvious but, at the same time, stressed how far removed they were from the places they had come from and the people they had once been.

With only seconds to make a decision and choose someone to replace either him or Miller, Echo made it for them and simply took Murphy's spacesuit and stomped into the shuttle. No one, it seemed, had the time or the inclination to argue with her. Later, she'd justify that she was worried 'as I'd realised there were too many of you with dicks involved for a peaceful negotiation'. Murphy also wondered if she'd realised that Miller's replacement would otherwise have had to come from Indra, Gaia or Niylah and she'd have spacewalked over there before she let one of them go before her.

For about ten minutes after the shuttle launched, those remaining paced about anxiously, before Bellamy broke first and announced he was going running. Murphy would have echoed him and escaped to the upper deck but his actions turned out to be the straw which broke Raven's back. In that, she lost it. Completely and utterly lost her shit.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Your girlfriend has just, quite literally, put her neck, and everything else, on the line and you are going to go and run bloody laps." Her fury, and tool which she'd had in her hand, vibrated off the walls and up the corridor.

Quivering with rage, she surveyed the rest of them. Murphy sensed everyone wanted to be safe in Bellamy's wake but they all paused momentarily, wondering who would dare to face Raven's wrath.

After a torturous pause, it was Jackson who spoke up. "Reyes, we've all got someone we care about on there. Maybe we could do with a timeout. Clarke and I need to go and check the vitals of everyone in the chambers. Plus, Charmaine could do with her bloods and glucose checked and a rest."

Listening to his point, Raven nodded in concession and the three disappeared together.

Turning to the others, she conceded, "Does anyone else have _actual_ jobs to do?"

Instantly, there was a clambering of very busy people.

Emori asked if anyone would give her a, "Hand, pun intended, to man the control room, while we're Diyoza and Shaw down." Not that surprisingly, since she'd been fairly closely involved with the central team since they'd woken up, Gaia offered and the two headed off together. Madi suggested they cooked supper for the others' return and Indra and Abby immediately agreed this was a great idea. Niylah and Octavia, meanwhile, didn't even bother with an excuse, instead they simply followed the others and headed to the gym to spar and work out some tension.

Which was how Murphy found himself excuse-less and left with, a beyond-pissed-off, Raven.

"Come help me check the landing equipment for when they get back." Not waiting for an answer - it was an imperative after all - Raven headed into the shuttle port.

Initially, the two wordlessly worked their way through the hatch, checking each bit of equipment. Although he wasn't as proficient as Emori, and he definitely had no chance of piloting anything, he'd spent enough time following her instructions over the years to know his way around the basic mechanisms. He vaguely wondered if it actually was his Factory Station genes doing something useful for once.

Once they'd finished, Raven moved to sit in the observation station, radioing over to Emori that she'd stay there for the moment.

"You know they could be hours or," he paused, not wanting to put into words their shared fear, something they both knew all too well from previous experience: that the others might not return..."longer."

"I know. But I need to wait for them." She was resolute.

Nodding, Murphy then headed back into the _Eligus_. He knew she'd probably assume that he was about to do one of his infamous vanishing acts, thinking his work was done, something which was confirmed by the look of surprise when he returned under ten minutes later. Handing Raven a cup of coffee (life on The _Eligus_ did have a couple of things going for it at least), he sat down in the window seat with her and placed a chess set in front of her.

Laughing dryly, she asked, "Oh hell, are they going to be gone that long?"

Back on the Ark substation, he, Raven, Monty and Bellamy had got into the habit of playing chess. They'd set up games in the eating area and had taken turns making moves when they happened to pass. They'd stretched out for days and weeks and, sometimes, months, often prolonged by stalemates and Monty's long and careful deliberations when it was his move. Although Monty and Raven were the most skilled and methodical players, they were occasionally unnerved and defeated by Murphy's tendency to make rash, unpredictable moves and Bellamy's ability to wait them out, which perhaps made his current disappearing act even more strikingly out of character.

In order to distract her on this occasion, Murphy deliberately played his moves quickly and provocatively, forcing Raven to respond aggressively and make a mistake.

"Checkmate." Cockily, he smirked at her and she flicked her King at him in mock frustration, realising she'd given him the game.

"I tell you what I'll go best of three," he offered with deliberately exaggerated courtesy.

"Mmm I'm not sure. It feels like an extended metaphor for our situation right now. Maybe we should play Cluedo or something," she suggested half-heartedly.

"Also, not a great choice. Too many possible suspects. In the bunker. With a samurai sword." They both laughed darkly and put the game away, instead sitting in companionable silence in the window seat, shoulders touching gently and enjoying their coffees, despite everything.

Murphy wasn't sure how long they sat like that but his mind wandered off, back to his earlier thought about the others not returning and how, just a few months ago (ignoring a century and a quarter of sleep), he and Raven had been completely alone on a different ship, worrying that they might never make it to the ground. With retrospect, and in a rare moment of totally honesty with himself, that was something which no longer made him afraid; he definitely wouldn't have minded spending a lifetime lost in space with just Raven Reyes.

After a while, her head drifted over to rest on his shoulder and he closed his eyes; his thoughts were immediately drawn back to his imagined narrative of Monty and Harper's life while they were all sleeping. He really hoped they'd sat here sometimes and enjoyed this seat together.

However, he must have unconsciously expressed this thought aloud because Raven's voice cut into his thoughts: "They did. They were happy here." He could hear her smile in the certainty of her response and, for the first time since they'd woken up, he felt a sense of peace and acceptance about the missing pieces of the lives (and deaths) of their friends. Neither of them needed to say anything else; they returned to comfortable silence.

In fact, he was so comfortable that he was somewhere between wake and sleep when she finally spoke again, asking a question which was clearly preying on her mind, "Do you think they'll really take us hostage peacefully?"

He could only answer honestly, "I don't know Rey. I mean, is the question not: will we let them? As Octavia said, and she is not the only one with a piss-poor track record on that front is she? I think, bar Jordan, every single one of us, even Madi, knows that we're not the good guys in any scenario. Monty knew it. He was utterly exhausted by it. And we all know it's really why they're not here."

Sadness once again engulfed them. "I miss him so much. And I wish he was here too. Both of them... But I'm so fucking mad at him too because you know it must have been his idea to do what they did... You get that though, don't you." Raven's palm touched his gently and empathetically, as she spoke.

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak for a moment without his voice cracking. Lacing his fingers with hers, he squeezed her hand instead and took a breath, "They're still here, you know. I can hear Harper right now telling us not to wreck this and Monty willing us to be better. I actually think those bastards are haunting me. Every time Bel and I run that track, I swear, I can hear them cussing us."

Choking back both laughter and tears at his words, Raven turned to face him; her eyes fixed on his, so he was unable to look away as she asked him to do something else for her: "If they take us alive and let us live on The Plutarch, will you try it Monty's way with me? I need you, you know."

In that moment, he'd have flown into the sun with her. And, at the same time, he realised he probably always would have.

Even when she thought was 'rash and psychotic', he'd stayed with her.

When she was bleeding to death at his hands, and even though he'd only had a glimpse of her, something more than just her blood had seeped into a conscience he never knew he had and he'd been compelled to go back. Despite knowing he'd get caught, he had been drawn to help her. Despite her understandable fury, when she'd used her last breaths to tell him what a 'dick' he was, he'd been desperate for her forgiveness.

It was her who'd started it: the old Murphy would have left her to die. 

Yet, somehow, ever since that first encounter, she'd permeated into his soul: a soul which even he had forgotten existed for over ten years.

Since their first fateful meeting, he'd silently longed and burned for her. It was why he'd stayed with her then.

And again.

And again.

And now.

And, no doubt, again.

He nodded and attempted nonchalance, "I guess I haven't got anything left to lose by trying."

That wasn't true though. He had Bellamy, Emori, Echo, even bloody Clarke, plus Madi and Jordan, who'd somehow snuck in already. And, above all else, he finally admitted to himself: he had her. Even though she'd obviously never be his, he knew Bellamy was right, he'd do anything she asked of him. He was beyond 'whipped' though. It was something else. Something he didn't dare to articulate, even to himself.

Raven's voice broke into his thoughts, asking him another question, "Does it make you afraid? Living our lives like this?" She never shied away from asking him for the truth.

"You know, I was actually a bit bored." This was the truth. He could only run so many laps, read so many books and skulk about in corners for so long.

In response to his retort, he expected a smack at least. Instead, he got a laugh: a slightly hysterical one but a laugh none-the-less.

He continued, explaining, "It's true. I think I have a problem with the mundane. I'm just not suited to everyday life. Plus, just remember, it could be so much worse."

"We're literally about to get abducted by aliens so how, exactly, could this be worse?" she questioned disbelievingly.

"Me and you could still be alone on the Ark substation. Imagine if we'd never been intercepted by the prison ship. And imagine, we were still alive, trapped up there, with no way of getting down. Eating Monty's algae." They both mock gagged.

He went on, "We'd have been there watching the universe and our friends implode below us. Imagine that has just happened and, right now, you would be realising you're going to have to have sex with me to ensure the continuation of the human race."

Actually, he thought to himself, this supposedly hellish alternative reality would make an _incredible_ private fantasy later.

Turning to face her, he noticed a blush had crept up her neck and, uncharacteristically, she avoided meeting his gaze directly. He automatically assumed he'd embarrassed her but she responded laughing: "Are you asking me if I'd do you if you were the last man alive? I mean I used to sleep with that sleaze Kyle Wick, so...."

A series of pinging sounds cut off her response.

The others. They were back. Or, at least, someone was.

Without her needing to instruct him, Murphy moved totally in sync with Raven as they jumped up together and prepared for the incoming landing party.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies - I didn't want to have to write first person perspective of impressions of the new ship until later in the story, so he got dumped from the negotiating team. Probably for the best... 
> 
> I also don't know if Murphy is Factory Station. I really didn't see him as that Farm/Agricultural one and his family were too poor to be Alpha or Mecca. Do we know any others?
> 
> I may have plagiarised some lines ... from my previous work.


	5. The Last Supper

  
Relief engulfed the entirety of the landing chamber when all four of them stepped out of the shuttle. Immediately, he saw some of the tension leave Raven's shoulders.  For a fleeting moment though, he wondered if they'd all been body-snatched by other-worldly beings.  However, when she approached Murphy, Echo gave him a light shove and reminded him that she 'never forgot' who owed her favours, which instantly quelled that idea.  This was undoubtedly the Echo he knew.   
   
Otherwise, they forwent any niceties and greetings. Although he recognised Raven's evident gratitude for their return from the way she lightly squeezed Echo's hand as she went by her, she asked that they recounted their findings before anyone else arrived and she called another meeting.  After nodding at Shaw, he followed her directions and went first, quickly describing the dimensions of the ship and his perspective of any key defences and technologies he'd noticed as they had landed and had been escorted to a type of official meeting room or chambers.  Some of the things he said were beyond Murphy's layman's understanding of spaceships but what he did understand was the sheer scale he seemed to describe. Shaw then turned to Miller, who added that, to his calculations, it seemed at least ten times bigger than Alpha Station, where he had grown up.  

Continuing, Shaw explained they had met with the captain and other senior members of the The Plutarch's Government and Military, many of whom represented both factions.  They had, it turned out, resembled exactly the people from their own Earth: both in outward appearance and in the fact that they were fleeing a planet which had been annihilated by their own species.  Murphy refrained from commenting that this in itself was depressing enough but he could see the others were thinking the same thing: the sins of humans were not exclusive to just one world.  It was clearly an endless cycle. 

Carrying on, Shaw outlined the brief history the captain had given them.  Apparently, there was another habitable planet in a parallel universe but they had to make up to two hundred years worth of jumps through space to find its exact location.  In the dying days of their own planet, especially selected individuals - from military, government, education, technological and scientific backgrounds - were summoned and 'given a destiny' to find this new world, even if they died trying.  Echo had apparently commented at this point that she sure as hell hoped it wasn't our world they were looking for because that one was long gone.  However, they already knew about our Earth.  The one they were looking for was apparently younger and not in a ball of nuclear dust.  Several generations of their ancestors had been searching for the world they had sworn to find.  

Shaw moved onto the people of The Plurtarch's current predicament: "They have fifty one years of jumps left.  They could find the new world in the next cycle or it could take all fifty one years. However, irregardless, their population is an ageing one.  Due to restraints on who can pro-create with whom, as it seems they are reluctant to have bloodlines which run too closely, their numbers are falling rapidly.  They were pretty honest about it.  To survive, be it in space or on a new planet, then they need fresh blood.  Or fresh wombs and sperm at least.  And they want ours."  

Pausing for a moment, Shaw turned to the others to see if they had anything to add.  
  
Echo darkly added, "It was at this point, Octavia, Indra or Gaia would have jumped over the table and slit every one of their throats, so I think Miller and I were remarkably restrained." She went on: "Seriously though, he and I did raise major objections to their plan."  She explained that she'd told them they may meet violent resistance if we were forced into procreating for them, briefly alluding to some of their experiences with The Mountain on the ground.  Apparently, Miller had bluntly told them he was gay so they might be shit out of luck with him. 

At this point, Jordan looked to interject and Miller nodded gently to signal it was okay for him to do so.  He shared that the representatives from The Plutarch had been polite but very direct during the course of their meeting and continued to be so at this point.  "They said that although they had used slightly heavy-handed methods to ensure our ship joined theirs, that this was not reflective of the government or the way of life on board.  In fact, they intend for us to be part of their community, not their captives." Just as Murphy was about to call out the hypocritical bullshit of that statement, Jordan paused and added there may have been some scoffing, cursing and eye rolling from Echo and Miller at this point.  Clearly, cynicism also ran deep among his fellow survivors.

Miller continued, explaining that they did not react to this and simply spelt out the terms of the capture, or as they supposedly called it 'the sequestering of our people and ship for a common good.' Miller's tone reflected Murphy's internal 'bullshit' comments. He went on the same sardonic tone, clearly to reflect his thoughts on the mandate of their new captain: "They have said that while we will be expected to take on jobs and contribute to the running of the ship, we can stand for leadership positions, we can couple up with whomever we please and we can have children with whomever we please.  An exact quotation, was 'If we prefer the company our own sex, then that is not an issue and they are happy if anyone wants to be in a same sex couple, provided they partake in our donor programme at some point."  

"But..." Murphy finally spoke.  "What's the catch?" 

In front of him, the four of them looked at each other and struggled to articulate what it was that had obviously made them distinctly uncomfortable during their short time on the other ship.  

  
"They were just sooo... creepy." Despite the simplicity of Jordan's answer, the other three nodded in total agreement. 

"Even if I wasn't gay, I wouldn't have wanted to have sex with any of the women we saw.  Not that they weren't attractive.  They were.  Everyone seemed in excellent physical shape.  Yet, they seemed so cold and empty.  Like there was a vacuum where a personality might have been."  Miller went on to describe his reservations about their lack of personalities in more detail, which reminded Murphy of an old novel he had read. 

Echo then agreed and added, "It was weird too that there were so few women.  They admitted themselves that 65% of their population is male, which is partly what has caused their population issues.  I worry that it is a very partriarchal society.  They should surely have been aware of this when they manned (she deliberately stressed the irony of the word) the ship, so they have been incredibly short-sighted. Plus, even all these years later, the senior members of the council who we met were mainly men.  They seem to have caused some of their own population issues by failing to ensure there were enough women on board."  
   
Miles elaborated, "They reminded me of these pro-life religious zealots who we used to have in our time.  They seemed so utterly devoted to their cause and would do anything to ensure they completed their mission.  Although they said we could choose our own couples, they said we would have to procreate with someone at some point in the next ten years.  They were very clear that our survival would be dependent upon that regardless of any sexual orientation or personal beliefs.  They said we could choose from our own population or be matched with someone from theirs to ensure the survival of 'the chosen'.  Creepy, as Jordan said, but it was more than that. They were so interested in Diyoza and her unborn baby.  Especially when I foolishly answered as to what she might be going to call her.  They practically exploded with joy over the name Hope.  They kept saying that 'God had spoken once again' and that this child would be the centre of their community.  So, I ... which is why..." Awkwardly, he looked to Raven in apology. "Well, I said we were together...  Sorry Charmaine, I know I should have spoken to you first but I just didn't want them realising you were a single parent.  I felt like they would marry you off to the heir to their throne or something." Murphy realised Shaw was now addressing Diyoza, who was standing just behind him and Raven with Emori and Gaia.  They must have quietly snuck in while they were talking and not have wanted to interrupt. Instinctively, he and Raven moved to let the other three into the circle.  

Raven then commented, showing no indication that she was upset that her boyfriend had essentially married himself off to another woman, "I think Miles is probably right.  There is likely safety in saying you are with him.  At least until we figure out what we are up against.  Especially, as I presume they are expecting us to join them immediately, so we need to get our stories straight." At first, Murphy felt surprise as Diyoza seemed to agree.  Although, to be fair, on second thoughts, she was a heavily pregnant woman and Shaw was her only real friend and ally on board, so the two of them sticking together did make sense.  

Shaw then went on to confirm that, yes, they had been instructed to gather any personal belongings and prepare for The Plutarch to dock alongside Eligius at 0700 and take them into 'processing' (Murphy wondered darkly what the hell this might involve).  This gave them exactly thirteen hours of freedom before they would all essentially be taken prisoner once again.  Raven gave the order to tell everyone to meet in the mess in thirty minutes and everyone dispersed. 

Briefly, Murphy stopped by his room but a quick glance of his surroundings underlined that he had nothing he needed to pack, so instead he took a bag to the library to take a few books from the collection and enjoy the sanctuary it offered him before it was taken away once more.

By the time he'd made his choices and dropped his bag back in his room, he was late again.  When he arrived though, he could instantly tell that, this time, no one seemed visibly irked by his absence. In fact, no one paid him any heed; they had obviously heard the news.

The mood was muted but hostile.  Surveying the room, Murphy noted Madi and Jordan sitting on top of one of the outer tables and he went to join them, observing the arguments which were unfolding.  Most people seemed resigned but angry nontheless.

Indra was angrily questioning the decision to be taken hostage, "Are you going to let them subjugate us? You’re going to allow them to dictate terms and have their way?"

Gaia countered that they'd all seen too much bloodshed and pain the other way and questioned what they had to lose, which seemed to push her mother too far.

Indra spat back, "I mean they could fucking rape everyone of us, Madi and the other children included." Her words hung in the air, knifing into all of their worst fears. Based on what the others had said about the patriarchal nature of the ship, worryingly, it didn't seem beyond the realms of possibility.

Next to him, Murphy felt Madi stiffen but when he turned to glance at her she was nodding knowingly rather than shocked. She understood the implications and the risk. In looking at her, Murphy realised something: Madi was a child but, even before she'd gained the memories of the previous commanders, she'd been exposed to the truth of the world. She'd seen it annihilate itself; she knew there were no happily ever afters.  

Thinking back, he realised something else: that was what marked him, and the Blakes, and Raven out from some of the others. They'd seen their parents die at a young age, they'd been victims of injustice and, ultimately, they knew that no one was going to rescue them, except themselves, and even then, they'd all expected the worst in people from the outset.   Well, maybe not Octavia for a short time when they'd first arrived on Earth, but she'd reverted to type quickly enough.  Some of the others, Jasper, Bryan, fucking SpaceWalker, they hadn't been exposed to that.  Even after Jasper and Finn had been in the SpaceBox, they'd still retained that naivety. In that, they'd expected someone, be it their parents, the Ark, the  Universe, to rescue them and couldn't cope with the reality when it didn't happen. It was what marked the difference betwen most of the survivors and the dead.  Looking past Madi, he studied Jordan, ominously wondering what that meant for him.  

To his surprise, Madi stood up, standing on the table where they were sat and broke the silence: "Indra, the first sign of that and I’ll be right behind you burning their stupid spaceship down. We all will. But for now, we're all going to try it Raven's way. We're going to follow a new path to honour those who died to ensure we got the chance to walk on."

Murphy knew that they all were perfectly aware that this wasn't Madi talking but the many commanders' centuries of shared wisdom and knowledge: the pain and exhilaration of life and death.

She didn't ask anyone if they'd join her. She didn't need to. Her tone was resolute. 

Yet, Jordan still stood up, "I will. For my parents and the life they wanted me to have." 

Watching Jordan, Murphy felt the choking sensation again tighten in his chest. This time it was with pride and the sorrow that Monty and Harper were missing it. In that moment, he  promised himself that Jordan would be an outlier to his earlier hypothesis about survival.

To his left, Charmaine stood up too, "I will for the life of my unborn child."

Emori, of all people, went next, "I will because I'm not ready to die yet. Hey, Murphy's not the only cockroach here." 

They laughed at that. Some of them laughed too when it was Murphy's turn because he quipped, "I will because I am fucking Spartacus." 

Most of them didn't give their reasons: they didn't need to. For Clarke, Octavia and Abby their "I will" was heavy enough. But they all stood and said it, even bloody Niylah, and, for now, that was all they needed.

What followed was a surprisingly enjoyable evening of reconstituted spaceship food, a few swigs of hooch and folktales and stories. Gaia started it by asking Indra to retell a popular story from her childhood. Turned out the gift of oral storytelling transcended time and background. Madi. Jackson. Emori. Niylah. Each took it in turns to share a myth or legend they knew. Even Bellamy Blake retold a Greek myth. 

The time crept closer to their new dawn, literally at least, and, eventually, people reluctantly began to move in an attempt to get a few hours of sleep.  
Finding himself next to Emori as they made their way out of the mess hall, Murphy turned to her, "Do you think we should say we are a couple?" He felt he should ask, although he sensed Emori knew neither of them wanted this outcome. 

Thankfully, Emori emphatically shook her head. "Definitely not.  The last thing you and I need is our volatile relationship obscuring our rationality in a dangerous environment." She paused and turned directly to him, "Look, I love you.  Part of me always will.  But, we both know this is over.  We're not in love with each other and it just isn't right." 

Selfish relief washed over him, as she handed them both their freedom.

She continued, "Plus, we both know you will be absolutely fine over there. I'm going to ask Jordan if he wants to pretend he's in a couple with me at first.  I'm worried about him and how much he is taking on.  Although he is a grown up, he's still so young in so many ways.  I feel I owe it to Harper to look after him... And I'm worried otherwise the personality transplant version of Octavia might offer and the poor boy won't know what to do with himself!" 

Half laughing, Murphy considered making a dark joke in response about her having a thing for vulnerable virgins but he let it go.  Emori looking out for Jordan made so much more sense than the two of them.

Instead, he tried his luck: "Do you want to hook up before we go then and you're in your new faux-mance?"  

He could see she seriously considered it before shaking her head, "As tempting as that offer is, I think I will pass." 

"Hey, I'm hurt."

"We both know sex was never the problem.  The sex has always been absolutely immense.  Hell, let's be honest: it's the only reason we made it for as long as we did.  If you weren't that good, I'd have killed you already.  But let's have a clean break." 

Again, he was not offended.  He'd said as much to Bellamy earlier.  Hugging, they parted and Emori headed after Jordan. 

Everyone had pretty much dispersed when Raven caught up with him and asked if he had a minute.  They stood silently for a short interlude watching Niylah, Octavia and Indra stop momentarily to discuss something.

  
Raven commented, "I mean, I pity any fucker on The Plutarch who tried to mess with one of them."  They both laughed darkly, before she went on, "So, do you think you would want to say you were in a couple with me? I would feel more comfortable with you and for them to think I was already paired up.  I was going to ask Jordan but Emori said she's got him covered."

Momentarily, Murphy was lost for words.  His long-stifled emotions bubbled up towards the surface for the second time that day.  Simmering there, like molten-lava, they threatened to explode out, revealing a time-bomb of feelings and engulf him at the same time.

Instead, he reverted to what he did best and covered it with a casual and self-depreciating joke, "Wow, I’m really honoured to be - what - your third? fourth? Did you ask Clarke before me? choice."  Again, they both laughed.  She knew him well enough to know he wasn't really angry at her.  Plus, they both knew she'd never have asked Clarke these days. 

"Of course I will, Rey...But, let's be clear from the start, I'm not doing the dishes or your ironing and you better not hog the bed."  At the mention of sharing a bed, she blushed slightly and he felt somewhat awkward. _Shit, I should have_ _said no_ , he thought.   _How the hell am I going to life in close quarters with someone I am in l...._ Suddenly, Shaw reappeared in the doorway and Murphy forced his thoughts to subside back beneath the surface, not daring to acknowledge them, as Raven quickly bade him goodnight and headed to join her real boyfriend. 

Watching her follow Shaw, probably to bed, just to rub it in, he muttered - "What's he got?" intending for only himself to have heard.

  
"A pilot's licence." Bellamy had appeared at his shoulder.  

  
"Ha, fucking ha."

  
"Did I overhear correctly?! Are you completely crazy?" Bellamy didn't wait for an answer.  "If you're not insane now you will be soon! You and Reyes. In close quarters.  Pretending to be a couple.  You'll kill each other... or hate bang each other's brains out.  Or both.  At the same time. Regardless, none of these outcomes will end well for any of us."

For a moment, Murphy thought about arguing but Bellamy knew him and Raven too well.  Instead, he suggested some more laps but Bellamy declined having already spent hours up there earlier in the day during his self-inflicted exile and went to join his own girlfriend in bed.

  
Thus, Murphy found himself running alone and wondering what the hell he'd let himself in for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry took me a while to get this one finished. It felt like a lot of boring retelling of plot.


End file.
